Chapter Text
“Today was terrible,” Jax said, taking the digital cigarette from Pomni’s outstretched hand. Smoking in the Circus didn’t really feel like anything, but it was nice to have some semblance of normalcy…even if instead of puffing smoke, they were puffing bubbles.
“It wasn’t that bad, I don’t think.” Pomni stretched, reaching high high high up with her arms, before relaxing again with a content groan. “At least it was a little different.”
“Yeah, sure, it was fine until Gangle and her stupid dress suggestion.”
The jester snorted, attempting to hide her giggle behind the back of her palm. “There’s nothing wrong with guys wearing dresses, Jax.”
He passed the cigarette back, letting the soap-smoke simmer before blowing bubbles through his teeth. “Not in general, I guess. But it’s me. I mean, come on, Poms. I’m a frickin’ purple bunny. It’s hard to feel masculine around here.”
“I thought you said your ears and tail were ‘peak masculinity?’” Pomni took a drag from the cigarette.
“Did I? I don’t remember. That’s not the point.”
“Oh, yeah? What is the point, then, hm? Enlighten me, O Great & Almighty Mister Man.”
He shoved her shoulder. “You shut up.”
“Uh huh, you’ll have to make me.”
Jax flicked her in the forehead. “Look, a$$#@/€, it was mortifying. Would you want to be playing softball in front of everyone wearing a godd&^£ maid outfit?”
“It wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
He gaped at her. “It totally is!”
“I’m a woman, Jax. Wearing a dress isn’t that odd for me.”
“Just—just pretend you were me! Everybody was probably thinking ‘oh, he secretly likes wearing dresses, he’s so—so effeminate.’”
“I thought it was pretty clear you didn’t enjoy it.” Pomni handed back the cigarette, but Jax waved it away. He didn’t want any more.
“I mean—yeah, I—I hated it, I didn’t like wearing it at all. Obviously.”
Pomni blinked. “Well, now I don’t believe you.”
“Huh?! What did I do??”
“Did you…like wearing the dress?”
“Of—of course not, what are you talking about?!”
“Hm…” Pomni stood up, going through her closet.
“Pomni…what are you doing?” Jax asked. Their ears were pinned against their head. Oh, god.
“Here. Ragatha sewed me this as a gift. I thought you might like to try it on.” She held up a pale yellow dress, with a white crinoline and cropped, frilly sleeves. It came down to her ankles, but it would be quite a bit shorter on Jax.
“Why the h€%! would I want to wear another dress?!”
“I’m not forcing you. Just know I won’t judge if you want to wear it.”
“Oh, yeah? Why wouldn’t you judge, huh? You’re probably just looking for an excuse to laugh at me,” Jax snapped.
“So you’re interested?” Pomni asked. “I’m not trying to laugh at you, Jax. Trust me.”
“I’m—I’m not—then what’s your motive? What are you trying to get out of this??”
“I just want to know how you feel.”
They tilted their head. “Huh?”
“You heard me. Look, again, I won’t force you to do anything. But if you wanna try it on, I’m right here.”
Jax blinked at her. Once, twice—then grabbed the dress with a scoff. “Turn around while I put this stupid thing on.”
Pomni suppressed a grin as she turned. So, her hypothesis seemed to be correct.
“Okay, you can turn back,” Jax said, averting their gaze from every reflective surface in Pomni’s room. “I look stupid. Do I look stupid? I know I do.”
Pomni kept her tone gentle. She didn’t want to scare them off. “You look wonderful, Jax.”
“Don’t lie to me, man, come on.”
“Look for yourself.” She motioned to the floor-length mirror plastered on her wall.
“I…” They hesitated. “Fine.”
Pomni wasn’t lying.
Despite being sewn for Pomni’s measurements, the dress flattered Jax nicely. It hugged their chest, the frills along the shoulders draping delicately atop Jax’s fur. The crinoline gave the impression that their hips were curvier than they truly were. It was short, but not too short.
It was so perfectly feminine.
Jax felt their face heating up with embarrassment. “I look like a woman.”
“You don’t seem to mind too much.”
“That’s the mortifying part.”
Pomni sidled up behind them to get a better view of the mirror. “Do you want me to do your makeup?”
“What? Like—like a makeover?! Why would I want that?!”
“Nobody else has to know.”
They went quiet. Really,
really
quiet.
Then, finally; a hesitant “okay.”
“If you want to stop, just let me know, all right?” Pomni led Jax to sit on her bed, before going through her drawers.
The Circus didn’t have the most typical items, but there were some simple makeup options. Strange mascara that made eyelashes appear from thin air, lipstick that Pomni could swear was just red paint, different sprays that magically gave you an even coating of foundation. It wasn’t ideal, but it was fun enough to play around with.
She settled down beside Jax on the bed. “Look at me,” she said, leaning forward with a makeup brush and an eyeshadow palette. She didn’t want to do too much—Jax had presumably never worn makeup before—so she decided on something simple.
As it turned out, doing makeup on fur was difficult. She wondered briefly why animal testing was a thing.
Oh, god, this was going terribly. Maybe she should ask Zooble for help next time. They designed tattoos in the real world; surely they could do makeup…
“Um…I’m almost done, but don’t—don’t get your hopes up,” she said, wincing as she smeared their lipstick. She scooted into their lap for a better angle, licking her thumb before attempting to scrub the excess pigment away.
“Ew, gross, did you just lick me?”
“I licked my thumb,” she said.
“Then touched me with it.”
“Oh, you’ll survive. You might not survive this horrible makeup job, though…” she added, mostly to herself.
“It’s that bad?? Pomni, come on, I trusted you!”
“It’ll come off! Okay, okay, I’m finished, you can look. Just…don’t hate me.” She backed up, allowing Jax to stand.
They glanced in the mirror.
And lost it. “I look like a clown had diarrhea on my face,” they exclaimed, nearly unable to stand with how hard they were laughing. They grabbed the corner of Pomni’s bed for support.
“It’s not that bad! Okay, well, maybe it is…”
“It totally is! Oh, my god, let me do yours as revenge.”
“What? No!”
Jax smirked, grabbing the mascara wand and pointing it threateningly towards Pomni.
“No. Nonono. You don’t know what you’re doing with that. You could hurt somebody!”
“Nah, I won’t hurt anybody.”
“Yes, you will!”
“Wanna find out?”
“What the f^€%, Jax, no way!”
“Pretty please?” They batted their freshly-glued lashes.
She eyed him warily. “Just…promise you won’t poke my eye out or something.”
“Fffiiiiiine. I promise.”
Pomni handed them the makeup, and it was clear within seconds they had no idea what they were doing. “Do you…need help, Jax?”
“If you don’t shut up I’m shoving this brush up your nostril.”
“You’re such a d#€%.”
They rolled their eyes. “You’re just a terrible canvas. Hold still.”
“I’m not moving.”
“You totally were.”
“Yeah, yeah, well—”
“Pomni, Caine said he needed you for—oh.” Ragatha stood in the doorway, eyebrows raised. “Is that dress…?”
“GET OUT,” Jax shouted, throwing an eyelash curler at Ragatha’s head. “GET OUT BEFORE I THROW SOMETHING HEAVIER AT YOU.”
“Okay—okay, please stop!” Ragatha shouted, running out and slamming the door behind her.
“AND DON’T TELL ANYONE!”
Pomni grimaced, hesitantly tugging at Jax’s sleeve. They were seething.
“Hey, look, we can put a pause on this for now, okay?” she said. “It’ll be okay. Here, let me get something to wipe off the makeup—”
“No.”
“Huh?”
“I said no.”
Pomni titled her head. “We don’t have to stop, I just thought you’d want to.”
“Shut up. Sit back down so I can finish your makeup.”
She went silent, returning to her spot on the bed. Jax picked up the blush, staring hesitantly at the applicator before haphazardly blending some into Pomni’s cheeks.
“Are you a woman, Jax?” Pomni asked quietly, after Jax no longer seemed on the verge of committing a crime.
They stopped midway through painting Pomni’s eyelids with shadow.
“What?”
“I was just wondering. Are you a woman?”
“No, I—if that’s what you were trying to—you weren’t supposed to have ulterior motives!”
“This isn’t an ulterior motive. I’m not trying to get dirt on you, or something. I’m just…wondering.”
“I…I don’t know.”
“That’s okay.”
The silence was expected. Jax didn’t continue with Pomni’s makeup, instead opting to stare at the mirror out of the corner of their eye. She didn’t push them.
“I wasn’t born a woman,” Pomni said slowly, carefully, as if approaching a wild animal. “I’m a trans woman.”
Jax’s breath stilled for a beat. “Like—like Zooble?”
“Well…Zooble’s a different flavor of trans.”
They didn’t respond for a long moment. Finally, as if the words were heavy on their tongue, they whispered, “Did it feel like this for you, too?”
“Like what?”
“F^€%!#& awful.”
“Yeah. It did.”
“How did you fix it?”
Pomni looked away, and she could nearly taste how bittersweet her smile was. “It never really went away. Not fully. Sometimes, when I think about it too hard, it’s like I’m a kid again, begging my parents to let me grow my hair out, or buy me a skirt. It’s kind of funny. I barely even remember my parents, or my life at all, now that I’m here—only bits and pieces, you know? But I remember that.”
“That’s grim, Pomni.”
“I just don’t want to lie to you.” She took their hand, absently running her thumb across the back of it. “You don’t have to know for sure right now. Gender’s different for everybody, okay? I just want you to know I’ll always be here for you. Me and the dress.”
Jax looked down at the daffodil yellow fabric resting atop their fur.
“I think I get it.”
“Really?”
“No. I’m confused as s#!%.”
Pomni giggled. “I think both can be true at once.”
“I…I don’t know about all this. I don’t know if I’m…a woman, or something. But…if, just for now, you could think of me like one…I wouldn’t hate that? I don’t really know. I feel ridiculous.”
“That’s okay, Jax. That’s normal. You’re normal, okay? And if you want to be seen as a woman, that’s how I’ll see you. Even if you change your mind later.”
“Don’t tell the others?”
“I won’t. But you should probably apologize to Ragatha for nailing her in the head with an eyelash curler.”
“Nah.”
Pomni sighed. “I figured as much.”
Jax laughed a little, the corners of her eyes creasing as she smiled.
Pomni laughed, too.
(After all, it was pretty funny that Jax’s makeup was still f^£%€& up.)
Chapter 2
Summary:
Ragatha tries.
Notes:
This chapter is kind of short but I really wanted to get it posted!! I want to write Jax coming out to everyone else, but for now here’s Rags :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ragatha had been avoiding her.
Well, that’s how it seemed, anyway. Pomni figured it had something to do with Jax and the eyelash curler, but Ragatha always avoided Jax, so Pomni couldn’t really see a difference there.
Relationships are f^€%!£& hard, Pomni decided.
Everyone was eating their digital dinner, and to Pomni’s surprise, Jax was pretty cheerful. In fact, ever since the ordeal with the dress, she’d been nicer to be around. First she began insulting everyone less, then she started coming up with more lighthearted pranks—heck, she hadn’t even broken Gangle’s comedy mask since. It was a welcome change, one everyone but Ragatha seemed to have noticed.
Ragatha was really quiet.
Pomni had opted to give her space, instead spending her time with the other members of the circus, especially Jax. In fact, Jax had begun to visit with Pomni regularly. It was mainly to raid her wardrobe, but it was visiting nonetheless.
“Does this even fit you?” Jax asked, holding up a pleated pink skirt.
“I don’t know. Half of those clothes were just…there when I appeared,” Pomni said, mouth full of digital cheese puffs. “You can take what you want. I don’t really use it.”
“Heck yeah,” Jax said to herself, rummaging further into the closet.
And then there was a knock. “Pomni? Are you in there?”
S#!£, it’s Ragatha, Pomni thought. She motioned to the closet—go, hide, I’ll make this quick—before dusting the cheese dust off her hands. Jax dove inside, burying herself among the clothes as Pomni opened the door.
“Hey, Rags, what’s up?” Pomni asked, leaning against the doorframe as casually as possible.
“Can I come in?”
“Uh—yeah, of course.” Pomni stepped aside to make room, eyeing the piles of clothes Jax had left scattered across the floor. Of course, now Pomni looked like a slob.
Ragatha didn’t comment on the mess, but Pomni was familiar enough with her body language to tell she had noticed. “I…I wanted to talk,” Ragatha said quietly, shutting the door behind her.
“What’s wrong?” Pomni sat on the bed, moving the bag of cheese puffs so Ragatha had space to join her.
Ragatha remained standing. “It’s—it’s nothing, really, so if this is a bad time…”
“No, no, you’ve been acting strange. I want to talk, too.” Pomni knew Ragatha’s relationship with Jax was…unstable, at best, but that didn’t mean Pomni couldn’t have a good relationship with the both of them. Despite that, knowing Jax was within earshot made Pomni a bit uneasy.
“I really didn’t mean to—to come across weird!” Ragatha said, her words coming out quick and misshapen. Hurried, as if the sounds were running late on their journey out of her mouth. “I just noticed, that time I came in and you were with Jax, that dress… It was the one I made you.”
“Oh, yeah, ahah…um…Jax was just borrowing it.” Pomni kept her eyes off the closet.
“Jax? Why would he want a dress?”
Forcing herself not to react (Ragatha doesn’t know she couldn’t know Jax wouldn’t want me to tell her), Pomni laughed stiffly. “We were just messing around. It’s not like Jax ruined the dress or anything; it’s in perfect condition. I know you made it for me, Rags. I would never take that for granted.”
Ragatha tensed her jaw. “I know you wouldn’t, it’s just… I’m just being stupid. It was a gift, you have the right to do what you want with it…”
“You’re not being stupid. I get it. Jax can be…a lot. But I promise that I wouldn’t do anything to—to undermine everything you’ve done for me. Okay?”
“Okay… But, Pomni?”
“Uh-huh?”
“How did you even convince Jax to put it on? Is he okay?”
“Ah…um…well… I don’t know why Jax put it on, maybe you should ask Jax.”
Ragatha tilted her head.
“Anyway, uh…anything else you needed?”
“Oh.” Ragatha looked away, visibly hurt. “No, I…guess I didn’t need anything else. But…you…you didn’t give it to him, right?”
“What, the dress? No, of course I didn’t give it away. I still have it.”
“In here? I—I can take a look at it if you want, make sure he didn’t stretch it or anything!”
“No, Rags, it’s fine—hold on—”
But Ragatha was already heading towards the closet, pulling it open only to find—
…an unorganized pile of clothes. D%€£, Jax was good.
Pomni let out a sigh of relief. “It’s not in there, you don’t need to—”
“I see it!” She reached to pull it out by the sleeve, only to grab…a purple rabbit ear. “I didn’t know you had fur clothes in here?” She tried to tug it aside.
“Ow!”
Ragatha shrieked, stumbling backwards. “What—Jax?!”
“What the h€!%, Dollface?!” Jax shoved away the clothes she was buried beneath, reaching for her ear. “That hurt!”
“How was I supposed to know you were in Pomni’s closet??” Ragatha realized what she’d said and froze. “Why are you in Pomni’s closet?!”
“Because you knocked on the door and Pomni told me to hide!” Jax snapped, throwing a sweater at her.
“Quit throwing things at me!!”
“Don’t tell me what to do!”
“What, is this some kind of—secret…hidden romance?! A—a tryst?!”
“Romance?!” Jax and Pomni exclaimed at once.
“God, no!” Jax said, emitting some sort of noise crossed between alarm and disgust. “I’m just raiding her closet, it’s none of your business!”
“What??” Ragatha turned to Pomni. “What is he talking about??”
“Look, Ragatha—”
“She!”
The others went silent, staring at Jax, who had interjected with a scowl and a pair of crossed arms.
“Excuse me?” Ragatha asked softly.
“I said she,” Jax went on. “I’m—I’m a woman, and I don’t care what you think of that!”
Ragatha, dumbstruck and slackjawed, stared at the rabbit for a long moment. “You’re transgender?” she finally asked.
“So what if I am?”
“You think—you think I would judge you?” Ragatha asked. “I would never—I didn’t know—why didn’t you say anything??”
“She wasn’t ready, Ragatha,” Pomni said, to which Jax let out a scoff.
“I’m so…sorry, Jax,” Ragatha said. “I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have assumed…oh, god…”
“I don’t care. It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not!” She ran her hands down her face. “I’ve been misgendering you this whole time! Wait, here, I know how I can make up for it; I’ll sew you a dress like Pomni’s that fits your measurements! Does that sound okay…?”
Jax blinked at her. “You’d really… For me.” She stared, deadpan, as if asking the doll what she wanted in return.
“Yes, of course I will. Everything makes so much more sense now…”
“What’s that supposed to mean??”
“Never mind! Gosh, Jax, I am so so sorry…”
“Quit apologizing, it’s making me angry.”
“Okay, I’ll—I’ll just go. I promise I’ll make you that dress, okay? Okay. Bye. See you.” Ragatha made a beeline for the exit.
“Yeesh, she tries too hard,” Jax remarked, turning back to the closet. She grabbed another object of clothing, deemed it not her style, and tossed it over her shoulder.
“I’m proud of you,” Pomni said.
“Oh, god, here we go.”
“I am, Jax. Coming out is hard. Even if you know they’ll support you. I would know.”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Poms.”
“You’re very welcome. And stop trashing my room.”
“Stop having ugly clothes.”
“You suck.”
Jax let out a laugh, a genuinely joyful laugh. Ragatha might have been a tryhard, but at least she was a supportive tryhard.
“Authenticity looks nice on you, Jax.”
Jax rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and mushy heartfelt sappiness looks nice on you. That was sarcasm. I’m being sarcastic.”
“I picked up on that. Hold on, that color clashes with your fur, don’t pick that one!”
“I think it looks fine,” Jax said, holding up an indigo pantsuit.
“No, it doesn’t. Don’t even—of course you’re trying it on.”
Jax threw her overalls at Pomni, tugging the pantsuit on and struggling immensely.
“Let me help you, dumb@$%,” Pomni said, helping Jax pull the sleeves over her shoulders. “There, now you can bask in all your color-clashing glory.”
Jax stared at the mirror.
And stared a little more.
“Yeah, you’re right, this one sucks.”
Notes:
Writing scenes with multiple characters who share the same pronouns is so hard like 😭 please tell me if it ever feels unclear or clunky cuz it’s a fine line
Chapter 3
Summary:
Ragatha gets some well-deserved therapy.
Notes:
No funnybunny in this chapter, only mentions, but I was feeling inspired and REALLY wanted to give Ragatha some love. Thanks to the comments on the previous chapter I added the closet joke 😉 Thank you guys for your patience, hope you enjoy!
Chapter Text
Ragatha’s room was on-theme from the moment she put on that headset. Soft pinks and browns filled the space with a sort of coziness, not unlike the feeling of visiting your grandmother’s kitchen with homemade sweet tea sitting on the counter.
In one corner, near her bed, was an antique-looking sewing kit. Despite its dated appearance, it worked wonders. Ragatha hadn’t been gifted with a full closet upon her arrival like the other members evidently had, so she made her own outfits, even though none of the cast ever really needed to change clothes.
No one was really fit for her creations, though. Zooble was difficult to measure, due to their avatar’s tendency to change; Gangle’s avatar was extraordinarily fragile; Kinger was…well. And Jax… God, why was she sitting here, sewing something for Jax?
She felt heat rise inexplicably along her fabric cheeks, embarrassed and frankly a little angry at the irony of it all. Jax, who had treated her like utter garbage. Jax, who had turned down every act of repentance she’d offered. Jax, who had mesmerized her in a sense, despite what Ragatha knew about herself.
Jax was the only man Ragatha had ever caught feelings for, and perhaps it was telling that Jax was never a man at all.
After the rabbit had proven she’d never change, Ragatha’s feelings for her died down. She’d wondered for a while if the spark would ever come back, but Jax had grown more hateful by the day. After their falling out, there was no going back, and Ragatha worked through her feelings, opting to never fall in love in this godforsaken Circus again.
Until Pomni.
Ragatha was just lonely, wasn’t she? She was too old to be acting like a high school girl with a silly little crush. Yet she had stupidly assumed, when it came to Pomni, perhaps something could have blossomed between them.
Pomni was perfect. She didn’t know of the history between Ragatha and Jax (unless Jax had told her? Oh, God, did Jax tell her?!), she didn’t know of Ragatha’s flaws, her fears, her—
Oh. Maybe that’s why nothing grew between them.
Ragatha never planted anything.
She was such an idiot. How had Pomni, the newbie, coax Jax out of her shell? Ragatha had tried everything! What did Pomni do to appeal to Jax—no, what did Jax do to appeal to Pomni?! Why was Ragatha so—
The ragdoll flinched as the sewing machine pierced her plush finger. It hurt, but pain had been a different sort of thing ever since getting trapped in the Circus. She gingerly turned the machine wheel, watching as fluff poofed from the injury.
With a scoff at the irony, she grabbed her regular sewing needle and stitched the hole in her finger back up. The dress she’d been making for Jax lay unassumingly on the machine, a daring hot pink with layering that Ragatha was beginning to regret.
She was about to call it quits for the day when she heard a knock at her door.
“Oh, um, coming!” Ragatha exclaimed, mustering a cheerful smile before opening the door. “Uh…Zooble! Hi! What’s got you at my door, huh?”
Zooble’s eyes softened. “Hey, Ragatha. Can I come in? Just wanted to check on you.”
“Check on…me? I—I mean, of course, yes, come on in.” Ragatha stood aside to let them in, fidgeting with the hem of one sleeve as Zooble entered.
“You’ve been shut up in here for a while now,” they said, shutting the door with a gentle click. “Have you been up to something? Making something, maybe reading something new? I don’t, ah…I don’t know how much you read, actually. That’s more Gangle’s thing, I guess. Anyway, not the point.”
“Oh, no, you’re totally fine, no, I’ve been sewing a little, but that’s about it. I didn’t mean to, erm, lock myself away, ahah!”
“Look. You don’t need to worry about being nice right now.” They placed a plasticky hand on Ragatha’s shoulder. “I know you’re always trying to be nice for everyone. We appreciate it, really, but I wanna know the truth. If you’re mad at somebody, or stressed, bottling it up won’t help you. Honestly, we’ve all been noticing you’ve been a little off lately. I just want to check in.”
Ragatha froze, her fabric heart beating in her throat. “I…don’t know if I can talk about it.”
Zooble nodded. “That’s okay. I won’t force you. Do you want some company?”
She hesitated. “Please,” she finally whispered, sitting at the foot of her bed. Her eyes burned with unshed tears.
“Hey, it’s okay to cry. You know I won’t judge. I worked at a tattoo parlor; I’ve seen enough tears to fill a small lake.”
Ragatha let out a tearful laugh, wiping at her eyes. “I’m sorry, I just…”
“Don’t be sorry for your feelings, Ragatha.”
“They’re…irrational, though. And—and embarrassing!”
“Look. You feel really deeply. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be you.” The bed shifted as they sat next to her. “You’re allowed to have feelings, you know? And you’re allowed to have feelings about those feelings. You’re human, Rags. Even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. You don’t have to talk to me, but you do have to talk to yourself. And I need you to promise me you’ll treat yourself with the same kindness you do everybody else.”
Ragatha’s breath hitched. “Zooble, you…”
“Don’t mention it. This isn’t about me. Let this be about you, for once.”
“It’s—but it’s not about me! It’s about Jax and Pomni!” She smacked her hands over her mouth. “Shoot.”
“I already knew that. I know it’s not about Gangle or me, and it’s pretty d@£# obvious it’s not about Kinger. Plus, with the beef Jax has with everybody here, it’s not too surprising he’s involved.”
Ragatha sighed. “I know, I just… It’s really hard, you know? I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
“It’s not you. Jax is cruel to everybody. Not to mention, I can’t imagine Pomni intentionally hurting you. She didn’t, right?”
“No, no, nothing like that! She’s—neither of them are mad at me—well, maybe Jax is, I don’t know. I just…feel like things aren’t…smoothed out among the three of us?”
“Hey, I get it. Maybe you should talk to them. Jax probably won’t be receptive, but you never know. He’s been nicer lately, kind of? Like, he hasn’t been breaking Gangle’s mask or anything.”
“No, I just… I’m trying. That’s what I’ve been doing in here. I’m trying to fix things.”
“How so?”
“I’m…sewing them some clothes. As an apology. Or a gift. Or something.”
“Apology? Did something happen?”
“No—I mean—kind of—it’s just—I walked in on Pomni and Jax—I feel bad—”
“Walked in? On what, exactly??”
“Oh—oh, goodness, no, I mean—Jax was doing Pomni’s makeup.”
Zooble raised an eyebrow. “What the f^€%?”
“I know. And it really embarrassed Jax, and I feel bad, so I was sewing some stuff for her to—I mean—um—for him, for—for them—for—”
“Ragatha, hold on, slow down. I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Did you mean to say that?”
“No! I didn’t—I don’t—obviously not, I wouldn’t—I was just—”
“Ragatha. Is there something about Jax that they haven’t told me?”
S#!%. No, no, no…
“I…I did NOT mean to out her, I—you—maybe…you should ask Jax yourself.
Zooble paused. “How did you find out?”
Ragatha put her head in her hands. “Oh, lord, I should not be talking about her behind her back. This is so—I’m such a—oh, goodness…”
“Rags, hey, look. I’ll talk to her myself too. I just need to know about the parts that are negatively affecting you. It was an honest mistake and you know I, of all people,” they said, motioning to their avatar, “would not do anything harmful to her over it.”
“I…okay, you’re right. You’re right. I was just… I caught Jax wearing a dress I had made for Pomni, and Pomni said she’d lent it to her. I was just…hurt, maybe? I’m not sure. I really wanted that dress to be special. A gift just for Pomni, from me.”
“I see. And that’s how you found out?”
“No,” Ragatha went on. “Jax threw something at me, so I ran off and came back later to talk to Pomni privately about it. But then I found Jax in Pomni’s closet and she jumped out, yelling about how she was a woman and didn’t care what I thought, as if I would have judged her for that—why would she think that of me?! I just—”
“Back up a second,” Zooble said. “You’re saying Jax…physically came out of the closet…?”
“Yes… Oh. Oh, my goodness. That’s so…”
Zooble stifled a laugh, running a hand down their face. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, please continue.”
“No, I hadn’t realized that! I was so preoccupied with feeling bad that I didn’t notice—oh my gosh—that’s so funny!” She nearly snorted, hiding her laughter behind her palm. “I can’t believe that happened. Oh, jeez.”
“Why the h€%! was she in Pomni’s closet??”
“She’d been trying on Pomni’s clothes when I came in and I guess she just…hid there? I don’t know! That’s so hilarious, my goodness!” She fell into a fit of laughs, shaking her head.
“Hey, I’m glad I got you laughing,” Zooble said, their own chuckles harmonizing with Ragatha’s. Once the giggling had died down, they piped up, “From what I know, you didn’t do anything wrong here, at least nothing intentional. I think maybe instead of trying to apologize in a situation where nobody f^€%£# anyone over, you should just sit down with the two of them and talk about everything. I’ll talk to Jax, too. I won’t tell her you let her secret slip, don’t worry.”
Ragatha’s smile was genuine. “Thank you, Zooble. You’re completely right. I appreciate everything you’ve said to me.”
“Again, don’t mention it. It’s not about me, you know? Anyway, I know it feels like the end of the world, but it’s not. You’ll look back on this later and wonder what got you so worked up. Your feelings about it are valid, but it’s also not as bad as you think. Got it?”
“Got it.” Ragatha wiped the remnants of tears from her eyes. “I’m going to finish this sewing project, and then I think I’ll talk to them.”
“Sounds good to me. Is it okay if I watch you work?”
“Of course. I can show you my plans!”
Zooble smiled. “Awesome.”
Pages Navigation
Ali_the_silly_human14 on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 01:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 01:19AM UTC
Comment Actions
Trotg on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 01:21AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 01:24AM UTC
Comment Actions
infinitycuube on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 05:07AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 05:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 05:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
infinitycuube on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 07:39PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 09:05PM UTC
Comment Actions
Xlaira on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 06:03PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 06:16PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dragon_Writes on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 08:49PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 09:08PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dragon_Writes on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 09:34PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 10:22PM UTC
Comment Actions
Eshisakka on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 10:06PM UTC
Last Edited Tue 19 Aug 2025 10:08PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Tue 19 Aug 2025 10:24PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Wed 20 Aug 2025 04:07AM UTC
Comment Actions
Cakeinator on Chapter 1 Mon 25 Aug 2025 04:01AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Sat 30 Aug 2025 04:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
iheart_kittytoebeans13 on Chapter 1 Wed 03 Sep 2025 03:08AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Thu 04 Sep 2025 03:08AM UTC
Comment Actions
Archer_394 on Chapter 1 Thu 04 Sep 2025 06:31AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Sat 06 Sep 2025 02:16AM UTC
Comment Actions
René_055 (Guest) on Chapter 1 Mon 13 Oct 2025 06:45PM UTC
Comment Actions
MadBard on Chapter 1 Fri 05 Sep 2025 10:06PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 1 Sat 06 Sep 2025 02:17AM UTC
Comment Actions
IdiotWithAKeyboard on Chapter 1 Sat 04 Oct 2025 01:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
DrSunshine99 on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 05:21AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 05:23AM UTC
Comment Actions
ChaoticAce2005 on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 05:47AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 04:03PM UTC
Comment Actions
GhostName on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 05:52AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 04:02PM UTC
Comment Actions
Dragon_Writes on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 06:46AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 04:00PM UTC
Comment Actions
LifezVictory on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 01:13PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 03:59PM UTC
Comment Actions
LifezVictory on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 04:11PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Fri 22 Aug 2025 01:30AM UTC
Comment Actions
LifezVictory on Chapter 2 Fri 22 Aug 2025 01:41AM UTC
Comment Actions
nicocosm on Chapter 2 Wed 20 Aug 2025 07:54PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Fri 22 Aug 2025 01:31AM UTC
Last Edited Fri 22 Aug 2025 01:31AM UTC
Comment Actions
nicocosm on Chapter 2 Fri 22 Aug 2025 09:02PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Fri 22 Aug 2025 09:15PM UTC
Comment Actions
nicocosm on Chapter 2 Sat 23 Aug 2025 02:14AM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages_and_Ink on Chapter 2 Fri 22 Aug 2025 03:43PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Fri 22 Aug 2025 09:16PM UTC
Comment Actions
I love funnybunny yurii (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sat 23 Aug 2025 07:52PM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Sat 23 Aug 2025 10:30PM UTC
Comment Actions
Cakeinator on Chapter 2 Mon 25 Aug 2025 04:08AM UTC
Comment Actions
Solunarity on Chapter 2 Sat 30 Aug 2025 04:33AM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation